Mahabalipuram - World Heritage Tourist Centre Featured

Index

Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is a small tourist village in Tamil Nadu. The town is famous for its stone carvings made during the Pallava dynasty in 7th – 9th century. This historical site is also listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. These monuments and temples are located about 58 – 60 km away from Chennai the capital city of the state.

Shore Temple

Shore Temples: These are the oldest monuments of this heritage site build in somewhere around 700 AD. Most of these are re-constructed because of the damage caused by a cyclone. Thirukadalmallai : A temple at the sea shore built on the instructions of a Pallava King in order to protect and safeguard other sculptures from the ocean. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

Arjuna’s Penance : A huge bas-relief made by carving a rock and decorated with detailed carvings of monkeys and elephants.

Krishna’s Butterball : It is a giant rock that looks like a huge ball on the hilltop. It is an interesting place for scientists as the rock defiance the laws of physics.

In early days the village was called “Mamallapuram” and was built by the great king of Pallava Dynasty King Narasimha Varman I. Later the village became popular as Mahabalipuram, which literally means “the city of Sacrifice”. Mahabalipuram has a strong historical background that dates back more than 2000 years. The group of monuments at Mahabalipuram includes temples and the great grand architectural buildings that were made by carving hard rocks. These structures are massive and beautiful.